


Come Meet Me in the Stars

by Winged_Fool



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Confident Alex Manes, Dark, Enemies to Lovers to ???, Intergalactic War, M/M, Teasing, Vague Fighting Descriptions (sorry)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:26:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22028536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winged_Fool/pseuds/Winged_Fool
Summary: Alex and Michael have always been on opposite sides of the war. But when Alex shows up at Michael’s ship bloody and drugged, the enemy lines start to blur.
Relationships: Michael Guerin/Alex Manes
Comments: 36
Kudos: 121





	Come Meet Me in the Stars

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ViolettaValery](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ViolettaValery/gifts).



> For my darkfic connoisseur friend ViolettaValery, for always giving me so many excellent ideas to work with

When Earth and Antar make first contact, they are immediately at odd’s end with each other. The Centuries’ War begins and when they’re not directly fighting each other, they’re launching exploratory missions to divide up the universe. The Antar exploratory vessels are not peacemakers, they often run into Earth exploratory vessels and end up open firing at each other as they try to conquer the quadrant.

Michael is the captain of one of these exploratory vessels. It’s how he meets Alex Manes.

The Manes family conquered Earth a hundred years ago, staging a coup when the previous rulers wanted to reach out to Antar to sign a peace treaty. They amped up their attacks against Antar relentlessly. Its current ruler is Jesse Manes and he has each of his sons commanding the most ruthless ships of Earth’s fleet. Harlan, Gregory, and Flint are out on the front lines of the war, actively attacking Antar ships and territories. Alex is the commander of the exploratory vessels and he’s sneaky, smart, and an unbelievable tactician. He’s utterly ruthless and never hesitates when his finger is on the trigger.

Michael is half in love with him.

* * *

Michael’s crew is exploring Unon X when Max comms him, “Manes’ ship is approaching.”

“God _dammit_ ,” Michael curses. This is the fourth planet they’ve been mapping out that Alex’s ship has followed them to in a row. “Get the cannons targeted on his ship. See if we can blast them out before they land.”

Antar has the advantage in space, but the minute the humans get on land, they are unbeatable.

Max doesn’t reply, they both know that Alex wouldn’t be so careless to let them target his ship if he didn’t have a plan. Michael calls his away team to ready their weapons and scatter. He brought snipers on this mission because he knew Alex would inevitably show up.

He slowly paces the area, waiting for updates from Max on the bridge. Just as he’s about to comm him for a status report, a laser bullet flies by his ear, narrowly missing him, and hitting the tree behind him, causing it to explode on contact. “Fuck,” Michael mutters, rapidly scanning the horizon, but no one is in sight. He ducks into some bushes and starts crawling away on his belly.

“They’re on the surface already,” Michael tells Max and he hears his first officer call a ceasefire and scan for human heat signatures on the surface.

He hears some of his crew sniping down enemies and he tells Max to have Isobel beam the snipers up when they’re out of bullets. He pulls out his gun and looks through the scope to ready his shot. Suddenly another laser flies by him, causing the bushes he’s hiding in to disintegrate.

“That’s twice I could have shot you dead,” a familiar smug voice calls.

“Some aim, two bullets wasted on me. Get good, Manes,” Michael returns lightly, standing up from his spot.

Alex is standing not ten feet away from him, hair mussed and sweat glistening on his face. “I missed as a courtesy to you,” Alex replies, raising his weapon and aiming it straight at Michael’s head. “My aim isn’t what needs work.”

Desire pools through Michael’s veins and he smiles a slow cock-sure grin, “Don’t tell me you’re getting sentimental.”

Alex returns the flirty grin but doesn’t lower his weapon. “If it’s sentimental to steal your planets from right under you, then that’s me.”

Michael is about to respond when Max cuts him off in his ear, “Stop fucking around Michael. We’ve taken out one of their engines, we need to get a head start on them.”

“I know a losing battle when I see one,” Michael tells Alex, “this planet has no valuable resources, it’s a dead rock. Quick Alex, run and tell your daddy,” Michael is a faster draw than Alex and just as he feels the pull of being beamed back to the ship, he pulls his gun out and shoots Alex in his side.

Alex doesn’t give Michael the satisfaction of yelling out. His face scrunches up in pain and he immediately puts a hand on the flesh wound. “See you on the next planet,” Alex calls out just as Michael is pulled away and the last thing Michael sees is Alex blowing him a kiss.

* * *

“Fucking Manes,” Michael stews in his quarters. He’s glaring at his cup of mead like it’s personally offended him.

“We got the engines pretty good,” Max tries to encourage, “They’re going to be stuck there until another ship can bring them spare parts.”

“We also have the decoy ships heading in different directions. We’ll have a little more time on them for a bit,” Isobel agrees.

“Hopefully we won’t see him again for a few months,” Michael mutters into his cup. Isobel and Max exchange a knowing look. “What?” he asks sharply.

“Nothing,” Isobel smiles sweetly. “Maybe you should use the time you spend flirting with him to stick a tracker on him instead.”

Max tries and fails to smother a grin. Michael glares at them. “Fuck off,”

“Don’t be cute, Michael,” Isobel sobers up. “We’ve been lucky the planets have basically been useless, but if this continues, we could be stripped of our commission. Father won’t be pleased.”

“We’ll figure it out. Next time we see Alex, we’ll be prepared,” Michael replies confidently.

* * *

They go two months without seeing Alex’s ship. During that time, they conquer three planets and chart a new quadrant border. Michael is back in his father’s good graces and his crew is drunk off the victory. Max and Isobel have backed off teasing him so much and Michael feels good.

Their winning streak is challenged in the third month. They’re about to beam onto a resource-rich planet’s surface when Isobel calls out, “Alex’s ship has been detected. Estimated time of arrival in the quadrant is two minutes and some change.”

Michael immediately calls the away team beam down off and tells the cannoneers to get ready to lock onto Alex’s ship. “Let’s wait him out. We have the aerial advantage. We can idle until they retreat.”

When the ship comes into view, Michael calls the cannons to get ready to fire but before the order can be carried out, Isobel calls, “We’re being hailed. Return call?” She swivels around on her chair to get confirmation from Michael. At his nod, she returns to her console and patches the connection through.

Instead of Alex’s razor-sharp cheekbones, an older and hardened version of Alex appears. “Captain Michael. This is Commander Gregory Manes. We advise you to retreat and surrender UnInhibit VI to Earth.”

“Commander Gregory,” Michael acknowledges. “We only negotiate with your brother, Commander Alex. We have no reason to honor your request.”

“Commander Alex is no longer on active duty. According to his reports, your vessel should have been destroyed several times but he has been unable to follow through. I have no qualms with finishing what he could not.” Gregory is cold and tries to be intimidating but Michael does not fear him.

“Commander, I advise that you don’t underestimate our strength. We decline your offer of surrender and will defend our newly acquired territory by whatever means necessary,” Michael replies coolly.

Gregory’s lip twists into a snarl and he ends the connection without another word. Michael quickly barks out orders, “Gregory has been commanding warships for a decade. Exploratory vessels are different, we know his weaknesses better than he does. Eject the drones, lock onto their engines, and fire the cannons once the drones have surrounded them. We’ll send out a volley of laser arrows after the cannons hit.”

Max turns to his console and immediately ejects the drones. Michael watches with a careful eye as he pilots the ship to dodge Gregory’s attacks. The advantage they normally have in space is amplified by Gregory’s inexperience and the attack lasts about an hour before they’ve breached Gregory’s cybersystem.

“Isobel, hail them,” Michael orders and he settles into his seat as he waits to connect. Once the connection has gone through, Michael calmly says, “Commander, we’ve breached your cyber wall and taken out three of your engines. We are ready to discuss the terms of your surrender.”

“We will never surrender to Antarian trash,” Gregory sneers and abruptly cuts the connection.

“Humans,” Isobel mutters under breath and the bridge crew murmurs in agreement.

“Open up its doors and get some men on the ship. Bring me Gregory Manes,” Michael commands furiously.

They watch from the bridge as their crew invades the ship, slaughtering the human crew, searching for their commander. They find him trying to enter an escape pod. Gregory takes out three of their crew but they’re eventually able to subdue him. Michael gives Max command of the bridge and calls Isobel to accompany him to the brig.

They arrive just as Gregory is being locked up. He’s shouting obscenities and swearing that Antar will not get away with this.

Isobel knocks Gregory out and holds him in her iron grip as Michael methodically cuts his head off. Isobel is drenched in Gregory’s blood when she lets his body drop to the floor. She calls to the brig crew to clean up the mess while Michael holds the head up by this hair and inspects its face. “Let’s send Jesse Manes our regards,” Michael smirks.

* * *

Following their incident with Gregory, Earth locks down information from coming out of the kingdom. The only thing they hear is that Jesse has offered a reward for Michael and his crew for their crimes against the Manes family. Their father is very pleased with them and sends out a counter-reward for anyone who brings another Manes to Antarian justice.

They don’t hear anything confirming what Gregory said about Alex being stripped of active duty but they don’t run into him again. They’re back on their lucky streak since they’re not running into Alex anymore. They conquer another host of planets in the galaxy and sign tribute agreements with planets that don’t surrender to Antar.

They’re sailing through open space when Isobel suddenly calls out from her console, “Michael, we’re being hailed by a small ship heading in our direction.”

Michael spins toward her, “An enemy ship?”

“Unclear. It’s not a ship our database recognizes,” Isobel responds.

“Fine. Max, put our shields up then patch the call through,” Michael commands as he settles into his chair and watches the screen expectantly. The signal is shaky and takes a couple of moments before it connects.

“Captain Michael?” Alex Manes’ face comes on the screen and his voice fills the bridge. He has several bruises decorating his face, a split lip, huge bags under his eyes, and his eyes look unfocused.

“Commander Alex?” Michael asks in disbelief, “What is going on?”

“I’m very sorry to show up like this but,” his speech is slightly slurred...drugged? “I didn’t know where else to go.”

“What can we do for you, Commander? You don’t expect us to allow an enemy onto our ship?” Michael asks sharply.

“I was a prisoner of my brother, Harlan. They’ve been torturing me under my father’s orders.” Alex is struggling to speak but he gets the words out.

Michael shares a look with Max who tilts his head, _not enough_. “We ran into your brother Gregory a few weeks ago. He mentioned you had been taken off active duty.”

Alex swallows thickly and nods, “After our last encounter on Unon X, my father stripped me of my orders and had Harlan lock me up. The planet was depleted of resources as you said and my father labeled me a threat and enemy to the kingdom.”

“I will offer no apologies for that. You had chosen to pursue our ship unsuccessfully rather than chart your own new territories.” Michael replies coldly.

“I’m not looking for an apology,” Alex says, voice still slurring together, “I just escaped from m’brother’s ship. I still had some friends aboard and they broke me out and we exploded his ship. He’s dead.”

“And your friends?”

“Gone,” Alex looks like he’s ready to collapse.

Michal looks at Max again, he nods once. He looks to Isobel who shrugs one shoulder. “Very well, Commander. We will take you in as a courtesy and treat your wounds. When you are healthy again, we can discuss the terms of repayment.”

“I can give you information to take out my last brother and father,” Alex offers up.

Michael hears Isobel suck in a sharp breath behind him. “As I said, we’ll talk when you’re healthy,” he replies calmly. “Isobel, prepare to beam Alex on to the ship when he arrives. Max, I’m going to go down to the med-bay to talk to Dr. Vro before Alex arrives.”

Michael gets up from his seat and Max slides into it as Michael walks off the bridge. He calls behind him, “Max, Isobel, meet me in the war room in an hour.”

* * *

When Michael meets with Isobel and Max an hour later, they comm their father. Rath confirms through their intelligence that Alex had been stripped of active duty, but is presumed dead by Earth after the explosion on Harlan’s ship. Right now, Jesse believes that Flint is the only Manes son left. 

“Alex said he could help us take down Jesse and Flint as well,” Isobel offers to Rath.

Rath considers this for a moment, “It’s dangerous to listen to the word of a Manes, but it won’t hurt to see if we can get information out of him.”

“How do you want us to proceed?” Max asks.

“Michael, you’ve been awfully quiet. What do you think?”

Max and Isobel turn their looks at Michael and he ignores them to reply, “I agree that he could be useful in gathering information.”

Rath nods, “I’ll leave it to your judgment then. _Don’t_ let him get the best of you, Michael.” He promptly disconnects the comm and Isobel gives him a _look_ but doesn’t say anything.

“Let’s get Commander Manes healed up and then we’ll see what kind of information he can give us,” Michael states confidently.

“I can just go into his mind and pull it out,” Isobel suggests, raising an eyebrow.

“Let’s give him a chance, he might have some ideas already,” Michael replies sharply.

“He’s a _Manes_ , Michael,” Max protests, “It doesn’t matter how friendly you two are, he’s still an enemy.”

“I believe father put me in charge to carry this mission out,” Michael says coolly. 

“Fine,” Isobel crosses her arms, “But if he betrays us, I won’t hesitate to melt his brain.”

* * *

Michael goes to the med-bay after their conversation. When he enters, Alex is awake and nods to Michael as he sits next to his bed. “Thank you for your kindness,” Alex’s voice is raspy but he’s no longer slurring so it’s a start.

He lifts one shoulder and lets it drop, “How did this happen? Why would your father order this on his son?”

Alex laughs weakly, “Oh Michael, haven’t you ever wondered why I was the only one of my brothers to be on exploratory missions? My father hates me. Always has,” he says it so matter-of-factly that Michael instantly believes him. “My friendship with you just finally gave him the reason to lock me up.”

Michael raises an eyebrow, “Are we friends?”

“Aren’t we?” Alex asks and looks around the ship meaningfully, “At least as friendly as life-long enemies can be.”

Michael shakes his head while Alex smiles brightly. “Get your rest in, Alex. We look forward to hearing your ideas.”

* * *

Alex steadily gets stronger and he and Michael enjoy playfully bantering with each other. They form an easy relationship; Alex shares his abusive past with his father and he touches his right knee absentmindedly when he tells Michael how he lost the limb. Michael is more reserved, he doesn’t share as much but he does confide how much pressure it is commanding with his siblings.

The longer they spend together, the more Michael believes that Alex will help them take down the last two Manes. And it certainly doesn’t hurt to have the other one’s secrets.

After two weeks pass, Alex is healthy enough to be moved from med-bay and it leads to another argument between Michael and his siblings.

“The safest place to put him is in the brig," Isobel argues.

“If we set him up in a private room, he’ll be more willing to trust us,” Michael stands firm.

“Why do we need his trust?” Max asks. “He’s our prisoner, Michael, even if he came here willingly. You’re letting him take advantage of you.”

“Do you not trust me to do what’s best for Antar?” Michael angrily questions.

Max and Isobel share a quick glance and it’s Max that answers. “You’re a good captain, Michael, but you’re blinded by your...friendship with him. Would you do this for any other prisoner?”

“Any other prisoner wouldn’t have the intelligence we need to take out the Manes,” Michael deflects easily enough. “My mind is made up, I’m going to set him up in a room stripped so it’s just a bed with access to a bathroom.”

Max shakes his head in frustration while Isobel huffs. “Fine, but you’re the one who will show him around,” Isobel says icily, “It’s not right to have one of our crew associate themselves with a Manes.”

Michael rolls his eyes and stomps out of the war room, slamming the door shut behind him.

* * *

The next day, Michael helps Alex out of med-bay and gives him a tour of the ship. All the crew they run into are wary of Alex but still show Michael the appropriate respect so it’s clear that Max and Isobel have kept their reservations to themselves. He takes Alex to the bridge, their war room, and finally leads him to his own private quarters. Their hands brush as they walk down the hall, but Michael doesn’t make any effort to escalate. Their flirting up to this point has always followed rules, it is a game and Michael just needs to be patient. “This is where you’ll stay,” Michael says, stopping in front of a non-descript door.

Alex nods but doesn’t say anything as he enters the room. It’s mostly empty, stripped of all technology, just as Michael had told Max and Isobel. Alex turns to Michael and has a strange smile on his face. “A glorified prison cell.”

“We can take you to the brig if you prefer,” Michael replies, leaning on the doorframe, watching Alex carefully. "My siblings would be much happier with that arrangement." 

Alex relaxes and his smile turns flirty. “It’ll do. Where are your chambers?”

“Why? Worried I might come knocking in the middle of the night?”

“Perhaps I want to be the one knocking,” Alex returns cheekily. He crowds into Michael’s space, wrapping his hands around Michael’s waist. “To thank you for your kind treatment.”

Michael smiles and reaches out to stroke Alex’s cheek. “Meet us in the war room in an hour. We want to hear your ideas to take on Jesse and Flint.”

Alex simply grins widely before Michael disentangles himself from his grip.

* * *

Despite Max and Isobel being incredibly cold to Alex’s presence in the war room, he smiles at them and sits at the table as though he belongs there. “My father believes that I died on Harlan’s ship,” he begins, “and that gives us an advantage on planning the attack on him and Flint.”

Isobel narrows her eyes when Alex says " _us"_ but doesn’t comment. Max does speak up though. “I understand why you’d want revenge on your father, but your brother?”

Alex nods like he expected the question. “My family was my war before my father sent me to the stars. Flint may not have been the one to torture me, but he wouldn’t have hesitated because he’d know it would get him higher in our father’s good graces.”

“Puts you in a good position to take over the throne, too,” Isobel snarks.

Alex smiles indulgently at her. “Rather difficult for me to rule when I’m in Antar territory,” he says as if speaking to a child.

Isobel is about to snap back when Michael interrupts, “Okay, that’s enough. Tell us your plan, then.”

“Yes, so as I was saying, every year, my father meets with the top commanders in the military. The location is a secret, but it’s always the same date. His birthday,” Alex rolls his eyes at his father’s narcissism. “I was given the star coordinates before I was imprisoned. Since he believes I’m dead, it’s incredibly unlikely that the location has changed. It takes months to clear the space for the meeting.”

Michael digests the information. He looks at Max, he seems impressed, then to Isobel and her iciness has melted away. “We would need to gather at least twenty ships to execute this,” Michael starts, “We’ve been working on cloaking but it’s still months, maybe even over a year away from perfection.”

“You’re an engineer, aren’t you, Michael? I’m a computer engineer. Surely we could come up with something together,” Alex smiles fondly.

Max definitely looks sold on the idea and even Isobel has relaxed. “Very well. How much time do we have?”

“Four months,” Alex confirms.

“Good, then let’s get started.”

* * *

They get permission from Rath to pursue the plan and coast through space for the next few months. They keep Alex at an arm’s length, he’s around and observes but they don’t let him touch their technology, don’t let him understand Antar.

He and Michael work together on the cloaking software. He relinquishes temporary command to Max to spend all his hours in their research lab with Alex. Alex only has access to the cloaking program so he needs Michael if he requires information from their database.

Isobel drops in periodically as the ship’s communications officer to relay information to their fleet. They keep the number of ships they plan to attack with a secret from Alex. If it frustrates him to be kept in the dark about a plan he set in motion, Alex hides it well.

Michael and Alex work well together. They understand numbers and how the other works which makes it easier for them to build on each other’s work. Alex is brilliant and he knows it, his confidence is incredibly attractive to Michael and he wants him so much.

They work on the program for three months before finally making a huge breakthrough. They successfully cloak their ship and Isobel promptly swoops in to take the algorithm and disseminate it to the rest of their fleet.

When she leaves, Michael bumps his shoulder against Alex’s and smiles. “All coming together.”

“We make a good team,” Alex smiles back. They just sit there for a long moment, smiling and staring at each other before something flicks in Alex’s eye. He leans in and Michael knows what he wants, he wants it too, but it’s not time. He turns away at the last minute and pushes up from his seat.

“Max, Isobel, and I are going to meet in the war room to finalize the execution of the attack. You’re welcome to join if you like.”

Alex has a small smile on his face and something mischievous in his eyes. “I’ll let you all handle it. My bed is calling my name. But I’ll be thinking of you when I’m alone,” he says suggestively.

“An honor,” Michael replies and reaches over to pat Alex’s cheek before leaving the lab.

* * *

The plan is mostly complete. They will enter Earth space a day before the meeting date cloaked from their detection and once the meeting starts, they’ll attack. According to Alex, the top commanders mean about five military ships and three exploratory ships plus Jesse’s three protection ships. In all, it will be about twelve ships, including Jesse’s ship. Antar is attacking with 50 ships.

Isobel smiles when they finish going over the last of the details two days before the attack, “We’re so close.”

“Who do you think will take over?” Max asks. “The Valentis?”

“I’ve heard Valenti’s son is a doctor, he’s dirt-side,” Michael replies.

“A weakened empire,” Max says wistfully. “Just think of what this will mean for Antar.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We’ll see how the next few days go.” Michael cautions.

“You’re right. We’ve planned tirelessly, but things can go awry. We still don’t know if Alex is on our side,” Isobel agrees, slating a look at Michael.

He doesn’t rise to the bait, he merely agrees, “We’ve placed a lot of trust in a Manes.”

* * *

The following day, they cross the lines into Earth territory for the first time. The crew holds a collective breath as they pass through the boundary, but the cloaking holds. The entire fleet enters the space without any detection.

Michael allows Alex to stay on the bridge with them. When they make it close to the star coordinates of the meeting, Alex squeezes Michael’s shoulder and shoots him a delighted smile. When the relief crew arrives, Michael walks Alex back to his room.

“Nervous?” Michael asks when they arrive.

Alex moves close to Michael and replies in his ear, “I’ve been waiting for this day my entire life.”

Michael smiles, pulls Alex in close by the hips, and murmurs, “Well, I hope it doesn’t disappoint.”

“It won’t,” Alex smiles, then leans into Michael’s embrace to peck Michael’s nose. 

* * *

The following morning, everyone on the bridge is vibrating with excited energy. Michael meets Max’s eyes first, he smiles reassuringly, then Isobel who gives him a blinding smile, then he looks to Alex who looks completely relaxed. With all of their approvals and all the ships in formation, Michael commands, “Fire.”

Max beings typing furiously on his computer, sending out their drones to surround as many enemy ships as possible while Isobel relays their commands to the communications officers on the other ships. Alex stands behind Michael’s chair and he can feel Alex’s nervous energy behind him. He ignores it to keep his eyes on the viewscreen, watching all the drones swarm the ships.

The drones start attacking relentlessly and the Terran ships finally spring into action. Much like their attack with Gregory, the Antarians have the aerial advantage and it’s tenfold given their surprise attack and overwhelming numbers.

The attack is long, the hours crawl as they continue to mount an aggressive offense. They meticulously take out ship after ship. They’ve only lost five ships to Earth’s ten. The last two remaining ships are Jesse’s and Flint’s. “Would you like to send them any final words?” Michael asks Alex as his fleet readies their last attack. 

Alex has a strange look on his face, neither distraught over his former comrades’ death nor pleased that everything has gone according to plan, it’s almost blank and cold. He shakes out of it when Michael addresses him. “No,” Alex replies emphatically, “I never wanted to see their faces again.”

Michael smiles wickedly, “Very well. Max, send out the final attacks. For Antar.”

The crew is already drunk off their victory and they cheer out, “For Antar!”

They shoot cannons out to the ships and volley after volley of arrows. Flint’s ship goes down first, and when Jesse’s is crippled, Michael calls out a ceasefire. He sits in his captain's chair, thinking and waiting. Jesse’s ship tries to warp away and that’s when Michael sends out the last attack; a trio of bomb cannonballs go flying into his ship causing it to explode. 

The pieces of the ship and limbs tumble out in different directions and the bridge is cheering and whooping to celebrate their victory. Max slaps Michael on the back and Isobel comes over to give him a hug. Michael makes his rounds on the bridge, accepting and giving congratulations to his crew.

Finally, Michael looks back to his captain’s chair to see Alex still standing there. He meets Alex’s eyes which are blown wide and he has a twisted smile on his face causing arousal to flood his veins. Someone yells out a toast to the greatest victory of the Centuries’ War and someone else is pouring out celebratory mead.

Michael takes one and toasts with his crew, and suddenly Alex is at his side, plucking the chalice out of his hand and drinking from it. He puts it aside and tightly grips Michael's hand. He slowly lifts it from their side, keeping his eyes on Michael’s, and brings it to his lips, kissing each knuckle without breaking eye contact.

He smiles, the first genuinely happy one Michael has seen. It’s not flirtatious or challenging, Alex looks content. “Thank you, Michael,” he says, eyes sparkling.

Michael returns the smile and brushes at Alex’s fringe away from his face wordlessly.

Then the moment is over and a mischievous look enters Alex’s eyes. “Let me show you just how _thankful_ I am.”

“I have a room,” Michael responds playfully. Alex merely rolls his eyes but lets Michael tug him away.

No one is paying attention, so they quietly slip away to Michael’s quarters. When the door is shut, Alex is pushing Michael up against it, kissing him ferociously. Michael’s hands are on Alex’s waist, pulling him close so their crotches grind together. Alex’s hands have wound their way into Michael’s curls, and he’s lightly scraping at his scalp.

Michael rolls his hips into Alex’s and he breaks away from sucking on Michael’s tongue to moan desperately. He buries his face into Michael’s shoulder and sucks on the skin there as Michael moves his hands to Alex’s ass and begins to knead the flesh.

Alex finally pushes off Michael and smiles wickedly before sliding his hands under Michael’s shirt, untucking it from his pants and rubbing down Michael’s chest, stomach, flank, before resting his hands on Michael’s waist. 

Alex tugs Michael’s lower lip into his own mouth and sucks on it for a bit and Michael tries to push their bodies closer. On a particularly sharp thrust, they both break away to moan. Alex smiles at Michael’s wrecked face and teases him further by breathing into his ear, “I’m going to suck you off.” Michael’s breath hitches and before he can respond, Alex has slid to his knees and is unbuckling Michael’s pants.

He pulls out Michael’s erection and strokes it with one hand lazily, but it’s already hard and a bead of pre-cum is leaking out. “Aw, poor baby, already so eager.” Alex laughs quietly and smears the pre-cum with his thumb, “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of you, Your Highness.”

“Your Highness?” Michael laughs, “Should I call you by your title too, _prince_?” he smiles and threads his fingers through Alex’s hair.

“I’m no prince,” Alex retorts, “but I am a ruler,” and with that Alex swallows Michael down. He swirls his tongue around the head while gently cupping Michael’s balls with one hand. After teasing Michael for a bit, Alex takes him as deep as he can. Then he slowly slides off and goes back to sucking on the head and uses his other hand to jerk him off.

Michael lets out a low moan, burying his fingers deep in Alex’s hair and throwing his head back. Alex pops off of Michael’s cock and stops so Michael looks down, meeting Alex’s heated gaze. “Come on, Michael,” he urges, “fuck my mouth.” He slinks his hands around Michael’s waist to the curve of his ass and pushes Michael forward to his open mouth.

Michael tightens his grip in Alex’s hair and starts fucking Alex’s mouth in earnest. Alex’s eyes tear up, but he keeps his hands on Michael, helping him along, and Michael doesn’t think he’s ever looked prettier. He tells Alex as much and wipes away one of the tears that escape.

“Alex,” Michael finally groans out and Alex understands. He lets go of Michael’s ass, pulls his cock out of his mouth, and starts jerking him off. Alex opens his mouth and Michael cums on his lips, chin, nose, all over his face.

He grasps Alex’s hand and yanks him up to pull him into a filthy kiss. When they break apart, Alex grins at him and Michael floats over a cloth to wipe clean Alex’s face. “Let’s go take care of you now,” Michael pitches his voice lower, “ruler.”

He moans softly before walking to Michael’s bed. Alex shakes his still clothed ass at him then throws a wink back at Michael who quickly catches up with him to slap his ass. They tumble onto Michael’s bed, lazily making out. The earlier franticness has abated, but Michael hasn’t forgotten that he’s the only one that’s gotten off so far. Without breaking the kiss, he reaches into Alex’s pants and begins to take Alex apart with his hands and fingers.

* * *

When Michael wakes the next morning, the spot next to him is cold. Michael rolls over and his cheek crinkles a piece of paper on his pillow. Blearily, Michael pulls it out from under his face. It’s folded in half and in neat handwriting on the front it simply says, _Michael_. He flips it open and reads the short message.

_Thank you for the throne, Lover. See you soon on the battlefield._

_xx Alex_

He huffs out a laugh and traces each letter with his finger. He knew Alex would leave, but he had to hand it to Alex to leave the _next day_. He carefully refolds the letter and puts it on his nightstand. Michael decides to lay in bed for a few more moments before getting up to face his crew.

He dons his most grandeur clothing, a white shirt cut to his exact measurements and trimmed in gold, Antar’s royal insignia pinned to the right lapel and tight black slacks. He sticks the note into his pants and confidently strolls onto the bridge which is quietly somber. Isobel gives him a disappointed look while Max gives him a pitying one.

“Status report?” Michael asks as he slides into the captain’s chair.

“Alex took one of our escape pods and is headed back to Earth. He reprogrammed the computers on it so it’s not on our network anymore.” Max begins and Michael can feel the tension on the bridge grow. “He’s sent out an intergalactic decree that he will be taking over the Manes throne and doesn’t have any intention of de-escalating the war. On the contrary, he has already upped the number of patrol ships in disputed territories.”

“Hell of a way to thank us,” Michael mutters and he can feel Isobel glaring daggers to the back of his head. Everyone is quiet, the tension so high and the anger so palpable.

“King Rath has requested our ship return to Antar,” Isobel finally speaks up.

“Good,” Michael responds. He stretches in his chair, letting the tension grow even tighter, feeling Isobel's icy glare. “Let me give you a status report of my own. When Alex was first taken aboard, I had Dr. Vro implant him with some experimental nanomachines while she was patching him up. These machines track and monitor Alex’s location at all times. The only way it can be deactivated is if he gets a full blood transfusion to flush them out.”

There’s a stunned silence on the bridge that Max is the first to break, “Did you know he would betray us?”

“I just wanted to make sure we had an advantage if it came to that. We have taken out most of the Manes dynasty and helped replace it with a ruler we can track at all times. By showing Alex kindness and trust while he was aboard, he thinks he’s gotten the better of us, but that gives us the upper hand now.”

A peal of nervous laughter fills the bridge as the crew regains their confidence from the night before. Michael can feel the scratches Alex had left on his back and the sucking bruises he’d kissed onto his chest as he settles further into his chair. He reaches into his pocket to stroke his thumb against the note and lets the laugh burst forth from his chest. He shakes his head and tells Max, “Set up the coordinates back to Antar. Let’s deliver the good news to father.”

**Author's Note:**

> And they lived happily ever after fighting and fucking throughout the universe


End file.
